Abstract
Objectives
To compare fall rates and injuries from falls on low-impact flooring (LIF) compared
with a standard vinyl flooring.
Design
Prospective, observational, nonrandomized controlled study.
Setting
Subacute Older Persons Health ward (N = 20 beds).
Participants
Older inpatients.
Intervention
Three different types of LIF.
Measurements
All falls in the ward were prospectively monitored using incident reporting, noting
location and consequences of each fall. Fall rates (per 1000 bed days) and injuries,
were compared between bedroom falls on LIF against those occurring on standard vinyl
flooring (controls).
Results
Over 31 months, there were 278 bedroom falls (from 178 fallers). The bedroom fall
rate (falls per 1000 bed days occupied) did not differ between the LIF and control
groups (median 15 [IQR 8–18] versus 17 [IQR 9–23], respectively; P = .47). However, fall-related injuries were significantly less frequent when they
occurred on LIFs (22% of falls versus 34% of falls on control flooring; P = .02). Fractures occurred in 0.7% of falls in the LIF cohort versus 2.3% in the
control cohort. Rolling resistance when moving heavier equipment, such as beds or
hoists, was an issue for staff on LIF.
Conclusions
LIF significantly reduced fall-related injuries compared with a standard vinyl flooring,
whereas they did not alter the overall risk of falling.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: March 07, 2017
Footnotes
The author declares no conflicts of interest.
Low-impact flooring was provided and installed by Acma Industries Limited (Kradal), Jacobsens Creative Surfaces Limited (Tarkett Omnisport Excell), and Inzide Commercial Limited (SmartCells). These 3 companies had no other involvement in the study.
Identification
Copyright
© 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
